Gweilo Corp., operator of Mario’s Kitchen restaurant chain, increased the size of its planned initial public offering to P125 million from P105 million.
This is the second time Gweilo upgraded the size of the IPO.
Gweilo’s latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed the food company would sell 125 million shares, representing 38 percent of its authorized capital stock, at P1 per share.
The shares will be listed under the SME board of Philippine Stock Exchange.
Gweilo filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015 to raise P95 million from the IPO.
SEC approved the application of Gweilo to increase the size of its offering to P105 million in December last year.
The company hired Asian Alliance Investment Corp. as the issue manager and lead underwriter for the offering.
Net proceeds from the IPO will go to the expansion of company-owned Mario’s Kitchen and Stackers Burgers, implementation of unified IT systems and research and development.
Gweilo plans to open 15 branches of flagship Mario’s Kitchen in strategic areas within Luzon over the next five years. It also plans to open the brand to franchising to generate more revenues.
Gweilo also intends to open more company-owned outlets of Stackers Burgers over the next five years.
It plans to open by the third quarter a new branch at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City and two more branches in Metro Manila before end-2016.
Gweilo, established in 2001 by Raul, Ruby and Mario de Castro as a bar and restaurant operator, runs the Gweilos bar and Mario’s Kitchen restaurant chains in Metro Manila.
The company acquired the Mario’s Kitchen franchise from the Benitez family in 2007. Mario’s Kitchen is an offshoot of the popular Mario’s restaurant chain known for its traditional Spanish cuisine.
